Mondo Jazz

We could spend hours talking about the many things that made Carla Bley unique, and made her passing a huge loss for the world of jazz. This week we decided to focus on her songbook, as interpreted by many of the peers that admired her work.  The playlist features Gary Burton; Henri Texier; Marcin Wasilewski; Steve Cardenas, Ben Allison, Ted Nash; Antonio Zambrini, Jesper Bodilsen, Martin Maretti...

Swedish saxophonists Per "Texas" Johansson and Marius Neset both have two new albums out; Swedish bassist Petter Eldh is on--at least--three new albums, including some by Johansson and Neset. This and much more on a playlist largely focusing on music from the Berlin and Scandinavian scenes. The playlist features Lucia Cadotsch; Enemy (Kit Downes, Petter Eldh, James Maddren); Per "Texas" Johansson...

We look at the music we love not only as source of sonic delight, but also as a metaphor of how societies could work, in harmony and respect regardless of place of origin and without boundaries, to create something higher than themselves. So this week we focus on music that may provide either hope or relief at a time when another war has erupted. The playlist features Timmy Thomas; Gilad Atzmon; M...

A mysterious new producer, Church Chords; the unearthing of a gem; jazz divinations; blood diamonds and bloody belly comb jellies... here for you a playlist that reads like a thriller story, and is as gripping as one. The playlist features Billy Valentine; Church Chords; Geri Allen, Kurt Rosenwinkel; Andrew Krasilnikov; Arch (Luca Sguera, Giovanni Iacovella, Joe Rehmer); Tina Raymond; Jim Campilon...

Welcome back for yet another edition of Mondo Jazz bursting at the seams with gorgeous new and upcoming albums and music about the lockdown, incarceration, reincarnation, multi-tasking, astral projections, and how beautiful it is to play with musicians of different cultural backgrounds. The playlist features Xavi Torres; Federica Michisanti; Aaron Diehl [pictured]; Tyshawn Sorey; Joel Goodman; Car...

A cosmopolitan edition of Mondo Jazz, which brings India, Cape Verde, Canada, Haiti, England, Sicily, Sardinia, the Great American Rivers, California and Germany to your headphones, wherever you might be, through Radio Free Brooklyn's digital transmitter in Bushwick! Jazz without borders! The playlist features Kavita Shah; Dominique Fils-Aimé; Alabaster Deplume; Cettina Donato, Zoe Pia; Allison Mi...

Large ensembles, big bands, orchestras... A playlist replete of successful experiments in the art of more is more... The playlist features Chuck Owen, WDR Big Band; Gard Nilssen's Supersonic Orchestra; Miho Hazama; Steve Lehman, Orchestre National de Jazz; Darcy James Argue's Secret Society; Pascal Le Boeuf; Andrew Krasilnikov. Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/17937324/Mondo-Jazz...

James Brandon Lewis' homage to Mahalia Jackson, the ongoing Eastern and microtonal adventures of Lucian Ban, Mat Maneri, Fabio Delvò's fellowship and an exciting posse of emerging artists in their twenties make this hour of Mondo Jazz a treasure trove of sonic delights. The playlist also features Léon Phal; Logan Kane; Emma Rawicz; Shuteen Erdenebaatar [pictured]; Location Location Location feat....

A playlist to travel the spaceways of Sun Ra and Bernie Worrell, but also those of Ronald Shannon Jackson and Joe Zawinul, experience the Afro Futuristic Dreams of Idris Ackamoor, the grooves of the Adam Dietch Quartet feat. John Scofield and the river streams that have inspired Helen Svoboda and Slowly Rolling Camera. The playlist also features David Helbock; Cindy Blackman Santana, John King; Or...

A playlist featuring some delicious new and upcoming releases... but this week we also want to celebrate one of the musicians we admired and respected, an artist you would always find in bands and projects that mattered and a rare gentleman with a great sense of humor, trombonist Curtis Fowlkes who passed away a few days ago at the age of 72.  The playlist features The Guests, Lucy Woodward, Henry...

A series of recent re-releases gives us the opportunity to focus on the phenomenal 1970s music of two iconic musicians like Betty Davis and Charles Mingus. Music so ahead of its time that it sounds as if it has just been recorded today. Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/17842983/Mondo-Jazz [up to "Mademoiselle Mabry"]. Happy listening!

Too often we focus our attention on instrumental jazz… in this hour we will try to remedy that with special attention to jazz singers who excel at surprising and challenging expectations. The playlist features Kurt Elling, Charlie Hunter; Veronica Swift; Maria Pia de Vito; Kornél Fekete-Kovács, Veronika Harcsa, Robert Balzar Trio; Gabriela Martina; Elina Duni [pictured]; Camille Bertault, Paul Ber...

Seven days have flown by, and seven days were barely enough to go through another big pile of wonderful new and upcoming albums which we are featuring this week focusing on some captivating and forward looking projects, and several new albums that bring together jazz and the musical traditions of Cuba and Puerto Rico. The playlist features Adrian Younge, Tony Allen; Azmari; Johnathan Blake; Wolfga...

The transatlantic partnership between Céline Bonacina, John Hadfield and Rachel Eckroth [pictured] opens an edition of Mondo Jazz which also focuses on drummer-driven projects and piano trios. The playlist features also Csaba Palotaï, Simon Drappier, Steve Argüelles; Gard Nilssen's Supersonic Orchestra; Gauthier Toux; Luciana Souza & Trio Corrente; Orbit (Stephan Oliva, Sébastien Boisseau, Tom Rai...

The Fender Rhodes is back (actually, it never left)! And so is Peter Epstein almost a decade after his acclaimed album "Polarities", and with a new sextet! The playlist features also Laurent Cugny; Aki Rissanen; Matthew Halsall; Guillermo Klein; Peter Epstein; Lauren Henderson; Jeremy Dutton; Alex LoRe; and Artemis Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/17784582/Mondo-Jazz (up to "Timbe...

Unexpected returns, B-sides that sound as good as the A-sides, tributes to rock and folk heroes, Impulse! signing another key band of today's scene, Colorfield Records establishing itself even more as the label to follow... this and more on this week's edition of Mondo Jazz! Greg Joseph; Daniel Villareal; Anthony Wilson; Irreversible Entanglements; Darcy James Argue; Joni Mitchell; Vicente Archer,...

This week we focus on the reissue of a seminal project bridging acid jazz and trip-hop, the soundtrack to a film without pictures, a trip east bound and down fusion lane, a great crop of guitarists deserving wider recognition, and saxophonists of well-deserved recognition. The playlist features Marden Hill; Funkwrench Blues; Kait Dunton; Herb Alpert; B.D. Lenz; Andrew Gorny; David Preston; Max Lig...

A revelation of an album, "Sky" by Will Bernard, Beth Custer open a playlist which explores three piano jazz formats, solo, duo and trio, through a number of impressive recent releases. The playlist also features Yosef Gutman Levitt, Lionel Loueke; Jeff Babko, David Piltch; Benny Green; Simona Premazzi [pictured]; Satoko Fujii; Tania Giannouli; Leo Genovese, Demian Cabaud and Marcos Cavaleiro. Det...

This week take a look back at decades of productive and progressive relationship between jazz and hip-hop, with a focus on international projects and collaborations between jazz and hip-hop artists. Our way to celebrate half a century of hip-hop. The playlist features Dream Warriors; Us3; Meshell Ndegeocello [pictured]; Buckshot LeFonque; Steve Williamson; Q Tip, Kenny Garrett; Madlib; Jon Hassell...

Somehow a birthday has been identified for Hip-Hop, 11 August 1973, so in a couple of days you'll run into tons of initiatives marking the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of Hip-Hop. Should you catch yourself wondering, as a jazz fan, about how jazz and hip hop influenced each other… you may find a few clues with us here today... And since you're in a celebratory mood, maybe you may also celebra...

Lucy Woodward returns with a powerful single paving the way for a full-length album not to be missed, and for a playlist under the sign of electro-acoustic creativity, Brazilian influences and fearless imagination. The playlist also features Collettivo Immaginario, Tommaso Cappellato, Alberto Lincetto, Nicolò Masetto; Jason Moran, Marcus Gilmore BlankFor.ms; Cautious Clay, Ambrose Akinmusire, Imma...

The much awaited return of Tood Sickafoose graces our playlist together with other gem ranging from the gorgeous to the adventurous, with a couple of surprising contributions from musicians whose relationship with jazz has been notoriously... ambivalent, Frank Zappa and Stewart Copeland. The playlist also features Samuel Blaser; Todd Sickafoose [pictured]; Amaury Faye; Rudy Royston; Alexander Hawk...

This week we start with a remembrance of Tony Bennett and Jane Birkin, two artists who had a number of common traits that went well beyond their musicality, from their progressive activism to their multi-disciplinary talents. After that we revert to our weekly exploration of new and upcoming releases, with a special attention to trios and piano-saxophone duos. The playlist features also Alan Ferbe...

This week's playlist features two recent albums by, and featuring, Donny McCaslin , the new album by German baritonist Kara Linn plus a score of forward looking bass players and leaders, from Meshell Ndegeocello to Linda May Han Oh, Ben Wolfe and Philly natives Christian McBride and Alexander Claffy.  Detailed playlist at https://spinitron.com/RFB/pl/17641622/Mondo-Jazz [from "Clear Water" onwards...

After a couple of weeks focusing on some of our favorite tunes from the first half of the year here we are back on our night road to some of the most exciting new and upcoming releases, many of them with a cinematic and nocturnal vibe. The playlist features Erik Truffaz; Hernan Cassibba; The Vampires feat. Chris Abrahams; Rob Mazurek; London Brew; Yussef Dayes, Shabaka Hutchings; Matthieu Donarier...